Speeches by Yang.

“But that is on the side of Treasury rather than the regulators’ understanding?”

“Yes, in terms of the regulations.”

“Mr Bland, what about your conversations with the regulators on the “What next?”?”

“Do you see that central unit as a Government or an independently run unit, or more as another credit union that takes on powers to clear accounts across credit unions?”

“Is this at the very early stages of setting out a timescale for those projects? Where are you in that project establishment?”

“The FCA and the PRI say that many societies hold capital well in excess of their regulatory requirements, and it is not regulatory requirements that drive this excess accumulation of capital; there is something else going on in the sector. Do they have the right appraisal? Is that the appraisal you would make of the se…”

“Mr Bland, I saw you shake your head. Do the regulators have it wrong when they assess that many societies are holding capital well in excess of their requirements?”

“On capital requirements, you say the UK has requirements in excess of international comparators. In the Mutuals Landscape report, the regulators write that many societies hold capital well in excess of UK requirements. Given that the level of capital that your members hold is still well above even the UK requirements, …”

“I thank the Home Secretary for the Government’s focus on funding for neighbourhood police patrols, which has enabled Thames Valley police to form a new anti-shoplifting unit in Reading. Retail crime is still far too frequent and blatant in our shops. Will the Secretary of State or her Ministers come to visit the newly …”

“The inflation figures out yesterday show that despite the Government’s good progress on energy prices, food inflation remains stubbornly high. Even the price of a Tesco meal deal is stuck at £4.25. The Government need to make food and life more affordable, so will the Minister update us on his negotiations over agrifoo…”

“3. What steps he is taking to improve relations with the EU.”

“Earlier this week, my team and I secured a £12,000 refund from Thames Water for one of my constituents whose pipes had been left to leak for almost half a year. Half a year ago, when I first met Thames Water bosses, I asked them to explain how they would be using higher bills to pay for better pipes and infrastructure …”

“At the micro level, you think that banks could react to your reduction in the capital requirement by increasing lending to productive parts of the economy and therefore boosting growth?”

“Mr Bailey, we have just looked at the decision that the FPC made to lower the capital requirements of its risk-weighted assets from 14% to 13%, and I thank Sir Dave for writing to the Committee describing the possible monetary policy impacts of that decision. I was wondering how you respond to the concerns voiced by yo…”

“I was wondering whether any other members of the panel had any concerns about this lowering of the capital requirements.”

“That assessment is one that applies generally to the issues facing those highly leveraged companies at any point in time. I was wondering whether there are particular vulnerabilities that you see facing SMEs and private equity backed businesses right now in 2026.”

“Was your concern at the time about the active sales and the rate of absorption? Is that what you are saying?”

“To finish on my favourite topic, quantitative tightening; as you know, since we last met, the MPC has cut the annual pace of quantitative tightening overall from £100 billion to £70 billion a year while at the same time increasing active sales of gilts. Ms Oakes, do you think this overall package will improve gilt mark…”

“Sir Dave, just to go back to your letter; you mentioned that the decision to cut its benchmark should make banks feel more comfortable to deploy the capital they have and support growth in the future. I was wondering whether this measure came about primarily as a result of a search for measures to increase growth or, a…”

“So the FPC was consulted but did not give a recommendation?”